


Genius. Billionaire. Sex Demon.

by switchknitter



Series: The Afterlife of Tony Stark [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: EXTREMELY TEMPORARY character death, Incubus!Tony, M/M, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Post-Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-07 06:57:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16849297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/switchknitter/pseuds/switchknitter
Summary: Six months after the Asgardians make it to Earth, Tony Stark wakes up dead.It's a lot more fun than he thought it would be.





	Genius. Billionaire. Sex Demon.

The last few moments of Tony Stark’s mortal life were blurry: a hooded figure, a faintly glowing knife, and a pain in his chest worse than anything the arc reactor had ever done.

The first few moments after he woke up were… confusing.  He opened his eyes, shivering from a sense of time passing somewhere dark and cold.  He was lying on a floor, naked, surrounded by candles and strange markings. And he was being watched.

“Loki?”  Tony blinked.  The god of mischief, who was supposed to be dead, was very much alive and seemed faintly amused.

“Hello, Stark.”  Loki handed him a bundle of cloth.

Realizing it was a blanket, Tony wrapped himself in it and sat up, cross-legged.  He wasn’t chilly, but he felt vulnerable. “What am I doing here? What are  _ you _ doing here? And where exactly is  _ here _ ?”

“We are in my home in New Asgardia.  I am here because I live here.” Loki smirked.  “You are here because I summoned you.”

“Summoned me.”

“Your soul was trapped in the knife that killed you.  I released it. And here you are.”

“Killed me.” Riiiiight.  “And who would my murderer be?”

Loki shrugged.  “I do not know his name.  Some miscreant who got hold of a cursed object. He was killed in battle, I hear.  Thor and Dr. Banner asked if I could reclaim your soul, somehow.” Loki spread his hands wide.  “And here you are.”

Tony had a bad feeling about this.  “There’s a catch, isn’t there.” It wasn’t a question.  

“A small one, but nothing you need worry about too much. Your condition is easily managed.  And I am here to assist with your awakening.” Loki smiled. It was unsettling. “The only way to bring you back was as a demon.  I had several options, but after speaking with your friends, the choice seemed obvious. Tell me, Stark, do you know what an incubus is?”

“Of course I do.”  Tony stood up, tired of sitting on the floor where he had to look up at Loki.  “You’re saying you turned me into a sex demon.” He was having a hard time believing it.  Wasn’t Loki the god of lies? He could be making this whole thing up. “And how do I know this isn’t some stupid trick?”

Loki stood too.  Damn. Tony was back to looking up at him.  The god was nearly a foot taller than he was.  “Try to step out of the circle.”

Tony rolled his eyes looked down.  He was definitely in some mockup of a circle like he’d seen in shitty horror films.  He put one foot forward to cross the line surrounding him – and was blocked. He pushed against the invisible barrier with all his weight.  Nothing. “That doesn’t prove anything.”

Stepping closer, Loki erased part of the circle with his booted toe.  “Now try.”

This time Tony could step free. The step brought him closer to Loki, and he shrugged.  “You could probably do that without the theatrics.”

“But could I do this?” Loki put a hand on Tony’s cheek, and suddenly Tony’s entire world shifted.

Hunger.  All he felt was hunger.  It suffused his entire body.  He  _ needed _ , desperately, and it wasn’t clear what he craved until Loki leaned in and kissed him.

After that was a blur of bare skin and thrusting and the all-encompassing need, until Tony finally,  _ finally _ had his hunger sated by the burst of energy that came with Loki’s orgasm.  He drank the energy down as it triggered his own release, and the craving within him quieted.

It took a few moments for Tony to regain his senses.  When he did, he was horrified. He looked at Loki, who lay panting and sweaty beside him on the fur rug.  (Had there been a fur rug here before? Tony had no idea.) Loki’s eyes were closed, and he looked exhausted.  “Hey, uh, Mischief? You okay?”

Loki’s smile came slowly, but he looked pleased with himself.  “I am fine, Stark. Are you well?”

“I… uh… I think so?  Look, I’m really sorry—”

Loki opened his eyes and rolled to face Tony as he interrupted.  “You have nothing to be sorry for. As I said earlier, I was here to help you through your awakening.  I realize I probably wasn’t your first choice of sexual partners, but it had to be a god.” He half-shrugged.  “Your kind kill mortal prey until they gain control of their hunger.”

Tony felt horrified again.  It must have shown on his face, because Loki put a hand on his shoulder.  “You have nothing to fear. I will help.”

“Out of the goodness of your own heart?”  Tony tried to ignore the stirrings of hunger, just from Loki’s light touch.

Loki laughed loudly, then shook his head.  “No, not at all. Your kind are marvelous lovers, and your species is rare.  I couldn’t resist such a unique opportunity.”

“So… you enjoyed that?” Tony was starting to feel turned on and hungry, although it was nowhere as intense as before.

“Oh, yes.”  Loki began stroking Tony’s arm.  “I have never felt such pleasure, and that is with you being inexperienced. I hope to find out what you can do once you gain some control of your abilities.”

Tony made a face.  “I’m not sure ‘inexperienced’ is the right word.”

Loki smirked.  “Your reputation is what made me choose this form for you.  Your friends doubted you would be as pleased to feed on blood or human flesh.”

Ugh.  “Given the choice, yes.”  Tony was feeling light-headed from desire.  “Can I touch you? I need—”

“Be my guest, Stark.”

Tony got closer to Loki, and ran his hands up Loki’s chest.  “Why do you keep calling me that?”

“It’s your name, is it not?”

Tony gave in to temptation and licked Loki’s nipple.  The tiny bud grew hard under his tongue as Loki sucked in a breath.  He massaged it with his thumb and he dimly remembered they were having a conversation.  “My name is Tony.”

“ _ Tony _ .” Loki hissed as Tony’s teeth grazed his nipple.  “Do that again.”

Tony complied, and then began teasing Loki in earnest.  Kissing Loki deeply, he could feel the god’s pleasure as if it was his own.  He knew Loki liked a little bit of teeth, but not hard bites. He knew the shell of Loki’s ear was particularly sensitive in a certain spot near the top, but he hated having his earlobe sucked.  He knew everything about how Loki liked to be touched, tasted, fucked. It was both powerful and humbling, to hold someone’s pleasure in his hands so easily and with such certainty. He slid down Loki’s chest and took the god into his mouth.  This time, when Loki came, Tony drew out his feeding, making the orgasm last until Loki collapsed beneath him.

Tony felt good, so good that it took a moment to realize Loki was unconscious.  “Shit.” He shook the god, but to no avail. Loki was out cold. Fighting down panic, he noticed that Loki was still breathing.  That was good, right? He put a hand on Loki’s chest. Heartbeat was strong, if slow compared to a human. Okay. Good. Maybe Tony just wore him out.

Grinning, Tony stood up and stretched.  He felt… fantastic, actually. Now that he wasn’t hungry he felt like he could climb an entire mountain range and still have energy to spare.  He glanced down at his nude body and blinked when he saw the lack of scars on his chest. Taking a deep breath, he looked at his hands. All the tiny imperfections from years of accidentally burning or cutting himself while inventing were gone.  Curious, he found the bathroom and looked in the mirror.

Instead of the forty-something he was used to seeing, he now looked to be in his mid-twenties. He looked  _ perfect _ .  Almost too good.  Almost… inhuman.

Right.  Yeah. He was dead and this was what was left.  Tony wasn’t sure how to feel about that. On one hand, his body was a corpse somewhere.  On the other, he was standing here looking half his age and feeling healthier than he had in his entire life.  Questions bubbled up in his mind. If he was a demon, was he evil? Immortal? What could hurt him? What couldn’t? Did “demon” imply Christianity, and if so, would he be living in Hell from now on? Ugh.  Before his brain went too Heironymous Bosch (yes, Tony  _ had _ occasionally paid attention at all those museum fund-raisers!) he heard movement in the other room.  He stole the plush green bathrobe hanging on the bathroom door, wrapped it around himself, and went to investigate.

Loki, looking very tired, was in the small kitchen, had put on loose black pants and was staring into the refrigerator like it held all the answers to life, the universe, and everything.

Tony felt a twinge of guilt.

“Hey, Lokes.  You hungry?”

“Starving.  I need protein to replace the energy you took.”

Tony cringed, but tried not to show it.  “Do you want me to make you something?” At Loki’s incredulous look, Tony crossed his arms defensively.  “I can cook. A little. I can do eggs, if you have any. Bacon. Or maybe a steak?”

Loki gestured to the fridge.  “Yes. All of that.” Without waiting for a response, he shuffled off toward the couch and dropped onto it heavily, falling asleep once more.

Tony went to the open refrigerator and poked around.  Eggs, butter, milk, bacon, sausages, a few cuts of different meats… He’d seen Thor eat plenty of times, so he figured he’d make as much as Point Break would eat after a fight.  He went through the cabinets and drawers for cookware and utensils, finding a loaf of bread along the way. He could do this. Loki had fed Tony, after all. It was a fair trade.

Half an hour later he poked the sleeping god on the arm.  “Hey, Reindeer Games. Food.”

Loki sighed in his sleep and brushed the hand away.  “Five more minutes, brother.”

Tony snickered.  “Loki. Food. Come eat!”

Blinking the sleep from his eyes, the god yawned.  “Stark— _ Tony _ .  Food?”

Tony grabbed Loki by the hand and pulled him off the couch.  “Yep, food. Lots of protein.” He was nervous all of a sudden.  He hadn’t burned anything, but he hadn’t tasted most of it. After trying to swallow down a bite of toast that felt like sawdust in his mouth despite the butter and jam, he realized that he and food weren’t getting along at the moment.  (He hoped it wasn’t forever. He’d miss cheeseburgers. And chocolate. And oh fuck, what if he couldn’t drink alcohol?  _ Fuck _ .)  So most of breakfast was untried, and Tony was afraid the results would be awful.

Loki didn’t notice, eyes riveted to the plates on the table.  Tony had made breakfast for six humans. Hopefully it would be enough…. Tony handed over a fork as Loki sat down.  “I hope it tastes okay.”

The god speared a plump sausage, eating half of it in one bite.  His eyes lit up, and (much to Tony’s amusement) began to put away food with as much gusto as Thor did after a long day of beating up bad guys.  It was kind of cute and kind of terrifying at the same time. Tony took the time to wander around the house. It was a small cabin, really. The Asgardians had come here with the shirts on their backs, and that was about it.  Tony had been one of the people helping the newcomers rebuild in a remote area of Norway, so all the homes had electricity and TVs and stuff so the Asgardians could adjust to life on Earth. He provided satellite internet, computers, and smartphones for the refugees as well.  Pepper hadn’t minded the giant tax write-off for Stark Industries, nor the good publicity from setting up New Asgardia with the clean energy from an arc reactor of their own. But the gods had only been here six months, and home décor obviously hadn’t been Loki’s first priority.  There was the giant fur rug in front of the fireplace, and the floor nearby still bore the marks of Tony’s summoning a few hours ago.

Speaking of which…

“Hey Lokes.” Tony returned to the small kitchen, where Loki was nibbling slowly on the last slice of toast.  The entire “breakfast for six” was gone; nothing but empty plates and the slice of toast remained. “Wow. You weren’t kidding about being hungry.”

Loki smirked.  “So were you. I understand now how you would have killed mere mortals in your hunger.  I am rejuvenated with merely a good meal and some rest, but it is difficult for anything to exhaust my energy so.  No, please, do not feel guilty,” he added kindly, seeing Tony cringe again. “You  _ will _ gain control of this, I promise you.  I will help.”

Tony took a deep breath.  “I have questions.”

“Of course.  Come.” This time it was Loki leading Tony to the couch.  They sat at opposite ends, facing each other and Tony’s feet nearly brushing Loki’s thigh.  Not quite, though. They may have fucked, Tony thought to himself, but they weren’t  _ lovers _ .

“Does anyone know I’m alive?”

“Thor, Dr. Banner, and I were the only ones who knew I planned to bring you back.  I told them that I would let them know this morn if I had succeeded, as it was dangerous for them to be here when I tried to summon you.  So no. As far as the world is concerned, you died nine days ago.”

“ _ Nine _ ?  Jesus.”  Tony moved to stand.  “Where’s your cell phone?”

Loki grabbed his arm and held him in place.  “People will want to see you, and you are not ready for that.”

“The hell I’m not.”  Tony tried to pull away, but Loki wasn’t letting go.

“Are you sure?  Could you forgive yourself if you tried to rape your friends?”

There was a terrifying thought, but it took the wind out of Tony’s sails.  “I wouldn’t.”

“Tony.  Wait until morning.  See Banner and my brother.  Both will be able to resist you if you find yourself incapacitated.  Then we can talk about you seeing mortals.”

“Fine.”

They sat silently for a moment while Tony shoved the disturbing mental images aside and tried to focus.  When he was ready, he decided to start from the top. “So, uh, what exactly are demons? I’m not going to find out the whole ‘Christianity’ thing is real, am I?”

Loki’s guffaws of laughter were infectious, even if Tony was blushing from asking what was apparently a stupid question.  When the god finally calmed down a few moments later, he shook his head. “Well, not in the sense you’re thinking. All gods are real to some degree, but none are omnipotent or omniscient.”

“Wait… so there’s a Heaven and Hell?”

“Aye, just as Valhalla and Helheim are real, and Hades, and Jannah, and many others besides. Souls go where they expect to go when they die.”

“And what if you don’t believe in an afterlife?”

“Then you cease to exist, just as you wished for.”

“Huh. What about reincarnation?”

“As I said, souls go where they expect to.  If a person thinks they’ll be reborn, then they will be, although where they end up depends on what flavor of religion they believe in.”

If Tony could still get headaches, he’d have one already. “So back to my first question: what are demons?” The  _ what am I? _ was unspoken, but Loki knew what Tony was asking.  Tony could tell.

“Demons are souls that have been cursed, like you were, or ones who’ve twisted themselves with magic to become new beings.” Almost as an afterthought, he added, “not that demons are evil.  The magic can be for good as well as ill. Demons are spirits with no inherent morality. You are what you make yourself to be.” Shifting so that his legs were folded beneath him, Loki continued, “Although some curses make their bearer worse than others.  There’s a mortal bloodline, for example, that was cursed many eons ago to always become blood drinkers if they died by violence.”

“Vampires.”

Loki nodded.  “Quite.”

“So I’m not going to Hell.”

Loki shrugged.  “I suppose you could that realm if you wished, but I wouldn’t recommend it.  It’s unpleasant, although the Christian Devil is quite attractive in his way.”

Tony was  _ so _ not going there.  At least, not while he had more pressing questions.  “Am I going to die again?”

“No.”  Loki looked pained.  “Part of the curse is that you will always be as you are now, and cannot be ended.” He brightened.  “The good news is that there are many beings in many realms who are truly immortal. We can all ride out the end of the universe together in a few billion years.  I admit some curiosity to see what comes after that.”

“Wait, what?” Billions of years? And Loki would be there too? “How old are you?”

Loki thought. “I’m not sure,” he said after a moment.  “I know I taught the secret of fire to humans long, long ago.  Not  _ all _ humans, I think.  Just those who worshipped the Aesir.”  He shook his head, as if ridding himself of old memories.  “But we’re not talking about me right now, are we?”

“Uh.”  Tony was smart, but Loki was completely upending his worldview.  He decided to focus on  _ now _ instead of pursuing all the questions he had about Loki.  “Right. Back to me, then. I noticed earlier that when we were kissing I could tell what you liked in bed.  Like, in detail. I’m guessing that’s normal for me now.”

“Yes.” Loki smirked.  “If I was not a mage, and thus used to protecting my thoughts, you’d be able to read all the fantasies I have, too.”

“You’re holding out on me, Lokes?”

Loki looked away.  “Everyone has darker dreams they don’t wish to share,”  He said quietly. “Don’t you?”

Some of Tony’s more twisted fantasies flashed through his mind, and he cringed.  “Yeah, okay. You’re right.” He realized something. “I’m going to know more than I ever wanted to about some people, aren’t I?”

“Unfortunately, that’s likely to happen sooner rather than later. Even the deepest desires of most gods will be open to you, and from what I understand, blocking them is no mean feat.”

“Where did you learn about incubuses—incubi—whatever?”

“I knew a succubus a few millennia ago.  She was married to a mage I studied under for a time.  I never bedded her – she respected her vows, and I my teacher – but we spent many an evening talking about the things she’d seen and done.”

“You had a crush on her.”

“Of course.”  Loki half-smiled.  “She was a succubus, and brilliant as well.” 

“So we…  _ I _ … can have normal relationships? Not that I want one, it would just be nice to know if someday…”

“Of course.  The only issue is that if you and your partner are apart for some days, you will have to find a temporary food source.”

“Hm.”  That reminded Tony of the breakfast he’d made. “Can I eat and drink?”

“You can, but I am not sure you’d enjoy it.  Food, I’m told, is quite unappetizing when you don’t require it for sustenance.  The woman I knew enjoyed a cup of tea every so often; she did not thirst, but she liked the heat of the cup in her hands and the warmth on her tongue.”

“So alcohol…”

Loki shrugged.  “I do not know how it will taste, but it will have no affect on you.  Nor will any other mind-altering substances.”

Tony scowled.  Damn it. 

“Bedding someone who is drunk will share their state with you.”

Glaring, Tony’s voice turned cold.  “I’m not a rapist.”

Loki looked shocked.  “That isn’t what I meant at all!  If you and your partner shared drinks as foreplay, there is no harm in that.  That is all I meant to say.”

Tony relaxed a little at that, although he was still uncomfortable with the idea of being sober while a lover was not.  He wouldn’t say anyone had ever made him have sex, but he’d woken up still drunk next to too many people he didn’t know over the years, and not all of them had been drinking with him beforehand.

Loki moved closer and tentatively laid a hand on Tony’s shoulder.  “I’m sorry if I offended you.”

“It’s okay, Lokes.”  Tony shook his head. “My issues, not yours.”

Loki nodded, but didn’t take his hand away.  Tony felt absurdly grateful. “Why are you being so nice to me? And why am I so okay with it?”

The god shrugged, feeling guilty.  “I cannot answer for your feelings, but for my part… I cursed you, Tony.  It was the only way to save you, and this world needs you. The universe needs you, for the threat that comes.”

_ Thanos _ .  Thor had told Tony and the remaining Avengers about the giant purple dude with a hard-on for Death, back when Thor and the Asgardians had first landed on Earth.  Thor had said that it would take every enhanced fighter Midgard had to defeat the Titan. Well, Tony was enhanced now, although he doubted he could fuck Thanos into submission.

Tony started to giggle.  This was all too much, and the notion of screwing a purple alien (who was probably ugly) was enough to make him lose his shit.  He sat there and laughed, and laughed, until tears ran down his face, until Loki looked afraid for Tony’s sanity.

Eventually his fit ended.  He ran a hand over his face and through his hair, and eyed Loki.  “I haven’t lost my mind. I promise.”

Loki doubted him.  By a lot. Tony could tell.  “No, really, I was just thinking about Thanos, and how my superpower is now sex, and…” Yeah, Loki looked horrified now.

They stared at each other.  Eventually, the god just said, deadpan, “I think he has too many chins for your taste.”

And that set Tony off giggling again.  Loki seemed to want to laugh too, only he was too appalled.  Or something. 

When he calmed, he looked up at Loki and nudged him with his shoulder.  “Well, I feel better now.”

Loki gave him a small smile.  “I’m glad.”

“You’re not so bad, Reindeer Games.”

“Thank you?”

Tony frowned.  “You don’t sound like I should think that.”

“I invaded your world, Tony.”

“Yeah, you did.  And Thor said the purple guy made you do it.”

Loki winced.  “I told Thor because he needed to know of the threat.  I didn’t realize he was going to share my  _ weakness _ with all of his friends.”

This time it was Tony’s turn to put a hand on Loki’s shoulder.  “I’ve been tortured before. Thor knows that.”

“And you tell others?”

Tony shrugged. “When it’s important.”

Loki sighed.  “Can we go back to bed?”  He was obviously done talking about this.  That was fine with Tony; Afghanistan wasn’t exactly his favorite subject.

“You realize we haven’t actually been in a bed yet.”  Tony grinned.

“Oh.  You’re right.” Loki took Tony’s hand off his shoulder, holding it in his own as he stood.  “Shall we remedy that?”

“Yes.  Please.” Tony allowed Loki to pull him off the couch.  They dropped hands and Tony followed Loki to a closed door.

“Saying please already?” Loki opened the door and pushed Tony against the bedroom wall.  “I thought I’d have to try a little harder for that.”

Tony’s laugh was cut off by Loki’s mouth on his.   _ Oh. _ Loki had let Tony take the lead before, because he’d been so hungry.  This time Loki wanted control. Part of that was obvious through Loki’s actions – pinning someone to the wall and kissing them this roughly didn’t exactly say “submissive” – but Tony could also read the god’s desires with his new powers.

“Stop, stop.”  Tony pushed lightly at Loki’s chest.  “How come I didn’t sense this earlier?  You felt different in my head the last time, you wanted different things…”

“I told you, I am a mage.  I can control my mind better than most, and you are new to this.”  Loki, cupped Tony’s cheek. “I gave you what you needed, didn’t I?”

“Yes, but—” Tony exhaled slowly.  “I don’t want you to lie about what turns you on.”

“I didn’t lie.  I just let you see what I wanted at that particular moment, and nothing more.”

“Oh.”  Tony put his hands on Loki’s hips and smirked.  “Carry on.”

Loki huffed a laugh.  “You want to know what I truly want right now, Tony?”  He ran his hand up into Tony’s hair and tugged it lightly, making Tony moan.  He bit the smaller man’s lip, gently, and then kissed him slowly.

Tony felt  _ more _ this time.  Not just more of his own desire, but more of Loki’s wants.  The god wanted to bind Tony to the bed, make him beg, make him a slave to his own desire the way Tony had done to him earlier.  It turned out Loki didn’t normally like playing the more passive role, and part of him – Tony was sure Loki didn’t know he was sharing this part – wanted to have a sexy sort of revenge on Tony for putting him in that position earlier.  Tony would have laughed if he wasn’t so aroused by the mental pictures he was getting from the god: himself, bound, squirming in frustration while Loki teased him; being fucked from behind on his hands and knees while Loki pulled his hair… He got the feeling there was more to it than that, that maybe the God of Mischief was more than a little into BDSM, but when he tried to read deeper he felt himself cut off.

Loki broke the kiss and growled, “I let you test your powers, demon, but do not push me so.”  He still had a hand in Tony’s hair, and he pulled hard to bare the side of Tony’s neck. Tony gasped as Loki bit his neck.  It was painful but not terribly so, and it made Tony’s already-hard cock throb with desire. “Oh. You like a little pain with your pleasure.”  He licked the spot he’d just bitten, and Tony moaned as some unknown switch flipped on in his brain. “Do you want more?”

“Please.  I need…” He realized he was rubbing his cock against Loki’s thigh mindlessly.  He found he didn’t care. His desire was too strong, his hunger overtaking him.  He wanted to come, he wanted Loki to come, he  _ needed _ Loki to come…

“Sssh, pet,” Loki murmured.  “I’ll take care of you.” He picked Tony up as if he weighed nothing and carried him to the unmade bed.  

Tony whimpered.  “Please…”

Loki placed Tony in the middle of the bed and knelt between his legs.  Pinning Tony’s hands above his head with one hand, he rubbed his cock against Tony’s and Tony had no idea where the lube came from but then Loki was stroking them both with his free hand and Tony would have fallen over if he wasn’t laying down and then Loki was coming and Tony was too, and  _ yes— _

When reality returned, Tony was confused and a little freaked out.  What the fuck had just happened? He rolled to face Loki, who was watching him with concern, and repeated the question out loud.

“You respond to my desires, I think,” Loki replied.  “It frightens you.”

Tony looked away.  It  _ did _ frighten him.  And yet he needed to learn from it.  Turning his gaze back to Loki, he tilted his chin up challengingly.  “I need to know what I am now. What I can do. What I can feel.”

Loki stared at him for a moment, then nodded.  “You are braver than I would be in your position, I suspect.”

Tony shrugged off the compliment, embarrassed by it.  “It’s not bravery. Just self-preservation, combined with scientific curiosity.”  Oooooh. If he still had access to his labs (and why shouldn’t he?) he could run all kinds of scans on his energy.  Wait. If he had no organic body any more, could he change shape? Turn invisible? Hold on. Could he be summoned by other people?

His train of thought was cut short by Loki’s chuckle.  “What?”

Loki’s mouth was curled in amusement.  “I can practically see your mind working.  What is it now, little demon?”

“Just wondering if I could make myself taller.  Or blonde, or something. And if other people can summon me now too.”

“Please don’t make yourself blonde.” Loki shuddered exaggeratedly.  “And I rather like your height. Makes it easier to do this.” He rolled onto Tony, pinning him down and grinning smugly.

“I’m serious, Loki.”  But Tony found his hands stroking the god’s abs.  Jesus Christ the man was  _ cut _ .  Unf.

“I don’t know if you can shapeshift, but other sorts of demons cannot.  And yes, you can be summoned, but no one can force you to do anything against your will.”

Tony frowned, his hands stilling.

“I will make you a charm,” Loki said, leaning down to lick Tony’s nipple.  “You can wear it to prevent being called.”

Tony arched his back slightly to encourage the god.  This more relaxed sexual energy was nice, after the weirdness of a few minutes ago.  “It won’t work against you, I imagine.”

“True.  But I cannot craft one that would.”  Loki bit at the nipple, teeth slowly bearing down on the nub of flesh and keeping it trapped.

“Great,” Tony huffed, amused and turned on at the same time.  “Instant booty call.”

Loki sniggered and sucked hard, then swirled the flat of his tongue around the nipple still held between his teeth.  It felt divine. Tony wanted to laugh at his pun --  _ divine _ , ha -- but Loki’s hand slid down to Tony’s cock and humor was replaced by lust.

Some time later – minutes? Hours? Tony wasn’t sure – Loki stopped touching him and pulled back to his side of the bed.  Tony couldn’t help the needy whine that escaped him.

“Calm yourself, pet,” Loki admonished gently.  “You need to learn control, as much as it pleases me to make you lose yourself.”  He reached out like he was going to comfort Tony with a touch, but he didn’t, probably because Tony was still in a fog of need.  “If you can control your lust, you can control how much energy you take from your partner.”

Tony squeezed his eyes closed, clenched his fists, and thought of unsexy things.  Differential equations. Statistics T-tables. The entire C++ programming language. (Seriously. He was glad he had other choices for coding now.  C++ sucked. And don’t even get him started on C#, that was such a piece of shit--)

Loki was laughing at him again. Tony opened his eyes.  “What?”

“I didn’t mean for you to turn yourself off entirely,” Loki said, glancing down at Tony’s now-limp cock.  “Do I want to know what you were thinking about?”

“Windows programming.”  At Loki’s confusion, Tony shook his head.  “Nevermind. Just bad technology.”

“Shall we try again?”

Tony whined.  “Can’t we just fuck a few more times first?”

“Unfortunately, the longer we wait, the harder it will be for you to restrain yourself in the future.  Unless you plan to only lay with gods for the rest of eternity?”

“I dunno,” Tony leered.  “Do they all look like you?”  He frowned. “Or would I be stuck with a bunch of Thors?”

Why Loki was taken aback by that, Tony had no idea.  “Most Aesir men are more like Thor, or else wish to be.”

“Ugh.  Blond beefcake isn’t really my thing.  Are the women and non-binaries all blonde too?”

Loki was staring like Tony was crazy.  Maybe he was. “Most of the women are. What do you mean by ‘non-binaries’?”

“People who aren’t just male or female.  You know, genderfluid, intersex, agender… Does Asgard not have those?”

Loki’s eyes were huge. “Midgard acknowledges such things?”

“Asgard doesn’t?”  Tony was mildly interested for academic reasons.  He was comfortable being a cis guy, after all. He got the feeling Loki maybe… wasn’t.

“I… I…” Loki rolled onto his back to stare at the ceiling.  “I have always felt comfortable in both male and female forms.  I am unique, among both Aesir and the Jotnar.”

“Jotnar.  What are--?”

“Frost giants.”  Loki sighed, and Tony could hear the pain in his voice.  “I was adopted by Odin as a babe, and told I’d been cast out from my biological family for being a runt.”  He looked at Tony from the corners of his eyes, judging his reactions. “While I was masquerading as Odin I took the time to study the Jotnar, hoping to learn more of myself in the process.  I found out many things about Jotun magic and culture, including the fact that Jotun shapeshifters tend to be small in size and that the chances I’d been abandoned were miniscule. But freely changing genders?  I am, as I said, unique.”

“I’m sorry.”  Tony knew he should say more, and he struggled for words.  “Non-binary people are pretty rare on Earth, too. But they have discussion groups on the internet.  You should try one. Have you figured out Google yet?”

“Of course I have.”

“Cool.  Google ‘genderfluid’ when you have some time.  It might help.” Tony being Tony, he kept talking.  “I don’t think there are any internet groups for tiny frost giants though.  Not that you’re tiny. You’re quite, uh, tall. You—”

“Shut up, Tony.” Loki looked kind of amused, though.  Tony could shut up for that. Damn. Apparently he was getting  _ fond _ of the god.  Ugh. He needed to get control of the feeding thing so he could go home and sleep with—wait.  What was better, screwing the guy who decimated New York, or fucking multiple random one-night stands just to stay fed?  Huh. When he looked at it that way, Loki was definitely the better option. Loki was tasty, could keep him sated, and was fucking gorgeous.  And smart. Maybe they could be friends with particularly delicious benefits.

“How long does it take to get to New York from here?”

Loki looked at him with surprise and… was that hurt?  “I do not know. Dr. Banner refers to what I do as ‘teleporting’; it gets me across realms in mere moments.  So I don’t know about Midgardian planes and such. ”

Tony reached out to put a hand on Loki’s arm.  “I wasn’t thinking of  _ leaving _ leaving, just maybe us taking a little trip once I’m safe to be around.  You know, let my friends see I’m okay.”

“Ah.” Loki visibly relaxed.  “You would have me accompany you?”

“Of course!  You might have to make yourself look a little different while we’re there.  Everybody thinks you’re dead, because it turns out Thor  _ can _ keep a secret.”

“I’m as surprised as you are,” Loki said drily.

They shared a grin.

“Why wouldn’t Bruce tell me you were here, though?”

“I asked him to wait.  We are friends, of a sort, and I wanted time to prove that I mean no harm to Earth.”

Huh.  Big Green and Reindeer Games, friends.  Stranger things had happened. For example, Tony’s entire existence right now.

“Well.  If we’re going to have guests in a couple of hours, I suppose we should get back to practicing this  _ control _ thing.”

“Indeed.”  Loki smiled wickedly, and it was enough to make Tony’s toes curl.

_ Best lessons ever _ , Tony thought, just before Loki became his entire world again.

\---

By the time there was a knock at the front door, Tony had gotten better control.  Not complete control, but better. It hadn’t hurt that Loki had insisted that Tony take as much energy as possible when Loki finally came.

Dressed in black jeans and a green long-sleeve T-shirt (both Loki’s, and altered to fit via magic), Tony watched as Loki opened the door.  The god wore black jeans as well, and a black button-up shirt. They were both barefoot, which amused Tony for some reason. Tony braced himself, waiting to see how he’d feel when his friends walked in.

“ _ Tony _ ,” Bruce breathed as he laid eyes on the dead man.  He looked like he wanted to rush forward, but he didn’t.  Tony knew the feeling. He wanted to hug his science bro, but he was afraid.  He covered it up with words, as usual.

“Brucie Bear! How are you?  I’d hug you, but, you know. Shit happened.  And Point Break, good to see you. How’s the king thing going?”

Thor answered first.  “It goes well, friend Tony. How do you feel?”

“Well, it’s better than being dead,” he quipped, but inwardly cringed when he saw Bruce’s face fall.  “Hey, hey, Green Bean. It’s cool. I look younger, I feel great, and the sex. Oh my GOD the sex.” He caught Loki’s smirk in his peripheral vision and rolled his eyes.  “Not all you, Rudolph. Anyway, Brucie, when I’m ready to travel I want to hit the lab and run a shitload of tests on myself. You in?”

Bruce grinned.  “You have to ask?”

Tony beamed.  He could almost taste the science.

Loki, face oddly neutral, spoke up.  “Sorry to ruin the moment, but we need to see how Tony reacts to both of you.”  Right, this was the shitty part.

“Okay, guys.  Please don’t be offended if I, uh, try something I shouldn’t.”  Tony wanted to wrap his arms around himself, but instead tried to relax and fake confidence he didn’t feel.  He was pretty sure nobody present was fooled, but it made him feel better to try. “Brace yourself, Pikachu.”

Tony stepped up to Thor, getting in his personal space.  He and Loki had decided he should try Thor first, because Tony was normally turned off by the thunder god.  It made him a safer bet than Bruce, whom Tony had casually hit on a couple of times back before they’d become friends.  Tony took a deep breath, smelling Thor, and yeah, definitely still turned off by him. Tony could smell him better, his senses were much stronger like this, but there was nothing else.

Grinning, Tony patted Thor on the shoulder.  “You’re safe. Still as unsexy as ever.”

Was Thor  _ pouting _ ?  Tony fought off a laugh.  That was hilarious. “You think me unattractive, Friend Tony?”

“Sorry, big guy.  You’re just not my type.”

Loki looked gleeful.  It was kind of cute. Tony pretended he didn’t see it.  “You ready for me, Big Green?”

Bruce finished cleaning his glasses and nodded nervously.  Tony wanted to hug him.

So he did.

Bruce smelled  _ wrong _ .  Like two different people.  Which made sense, but wow that was weird.  Tony ignored it as best he could and gave Bruce a loud, exaggerated kiss on the cheek before stepping back.  “Aaaaaand we’re fine.”

Loki looked concerned.  Tony wasn’t sure why, he was doing a surprisingly good job.  Wasn’t getting turned on in the slightest. Well, okay, that was kind of odd, given what Loki had said earlier.  But hey, even gods could be wrong, right?

“Would you be willing to meet a stranger?” Bruce asked.  “We asked Valkyrie to come, she’s waiting outside.”

“Sure,  _ mi casa es su casa _ and all that.  Well, Loki’s  _ casa _ .  Whatever.”

Thor, closest to the door, opened it and motioned in a dark-haired woman who looked like she could kick Tony’s ass in her sleep.  She looked like she was thinking about doing that  _ now _ , actually, and they hadn’t even been introduced.  “Friend Tony, this is the Valkyrie.”

Tony stuck his hand out to shake hers.  She just looked at it. Right, Asgardian.  He dropped his hand and shrugged. “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.”  She nodded, and looked expectantly at Thor, who shrugged.

“What?” Tony asked.

“We all expected you to be, uh, struggling,” Bruce said.

“Oh.  Well. Sorry?  I mean, none of you are—” Loki was  _ touching him _ suddenly, in front of people.  Not anywhere weird, just on the back of his neck, but Tony suddenly  _ wanted _ again, and he nearly moaned from it.

And then Loki was gone, and Tony wanted to whine.  It took him a minute to put his brain back together, but then Thor was touching him the same way, and  _ no _ .  Tony flinched and found himself across the room.  Holy shit, he’d just teleported. Or something like it.

“Loki…” Thor rumbled angrily.

“I didn’t know!  I didn’t do it on purpose, I swear to you.”

“Do what?” Bruce asked.

“My brother has bound Tony to himself.”

“Wait, what?” Tony tried to stop shaking.  He was shaking? Why was he shaking?

Loki walked over, slowly, his hands out placatingly, deliberately telegraphing his movements.  “I am sorry, Tony.” Tony just watched him, still freaked out, as Loki slowly wrapped his arms around the smaller man.   _ Safe _ , Tony was safe now.  Acting purely on instinct, he hugged the god back and breathed him in.

When he felt  _ normal _ again, he lifted his head from Loki’s chest and took a step back, eyes narrowed.  “What the fuck just happened?”

“I am sorry.  I will find a way to reverse this,” Loki said solemnly, green eyes full of worry.

Tony took a deep breath and let it out.  “Well, for now it’s better than me trying to jump anybody who comes along.”

“You have a point,” Bruce interjected.  “If you wanted  _ everyone _ , you’d be stuck here.  But if you don’t…”

“…I can go to New York or wherever I want, if Loki comes too.”

Thor frowned.  “My brother is not allowed to leave New Asgardia.”

“Even if he’s with an Avenger?” Tony pointed out, liking the idea of getting back to civilization.

“You’re compromised, Tony,” Bruce said regretfully.  “I’ll go too, if you like.”

Loki crossed his arms.  “What if I don’t want to go?”

Tony rolled his eyes.  “Seriously? How long have you been cooped up here?” He had a feeling Loki was being contrary for the sake of it.

Loki sniffed.  “After you don’t need to feed so often.  A few days, perhaps.” He glanced over at Tony.  “Now, all of you, leave. Tony is exhausted.”

Now that Loki mentioned it, he did feel tired.  Not physically, but mentally. He said his goodbyes to everyone, but sighed with relief when it was just him and Loki again.  Although that was probably because of this bond thing. Which they needed to talk about.

But… maybe later.

\---

When the door closed, Tony made his way to the bedroom and threw himself face-first onto the black cotton sheet.  He wanted a nap. He wasn’t sleepy, he just wanted to turn his brain off. After a moment he realized Loki hadn’t followed him.  That was probably for the best. Tony could use some time to himself. He fished the rather bland-looking green duvet from the floor and wrapped himself in it.  He wasn’t cold, he just wanted the comfort of it. Curling up into the soft fabric was grounding.

Sometimes, when he couldn’t sleep, he managed to get there by counting backwards.  Whole numbers didn’t do it – they didn’t occupy enough of his brain -- so eventually he’d settled on decimals.  He would start at 0.9876, and work his way towards zero. This time, things fuzzed out around 0.915. 

He didn’t dream, and when he opened his eyes some time later he felt like he hadn’t really slept.  He was as rested as if he’d slept a full night, but when he checked the clock on the wall, he had only had his eyes closed maybe an hour.  Loki was laying next to him, sound asleep.

Tony decided two things: one, Loki was pretty when he slept.  And two, he really needed to get the man some decent décor. Everything in the house looked like it came from IKEA.  Which, come to think of it, it probably did. The Asgardians had needed furnishings for more than 2,000 refugees. IKEA was cheap, and, well, when in Scandinavia…  He got out of bed carefully, as to not wake Loki, and shut the door behind himself. He had a phone call to make.

Loki’s phone was on the charger.  Being a StarkPhone, Tony knew the back door into the OS, and Pepper’s cell number was one of the few he’d ever bothered to memorize.  She picked up on the third ring. “Hello?” He’d woken her up. Damn.

“Hey, Pepper.  Miss me?”

There was silence on the other end for a long moment.  “This isn’t funny.”

“It isn’t meant to be.  Pep, it’s Tony. It really is.  I can prove it. Remember the time I bought you strawberries and you were allergic?  Or the time I bought you that giant bunny? Or,” he lowered his voice, “the fact that you have a happy-face-shaped birthmark on your left butt cheek?”

“It is  _ not _ a happy face, it’s just circular and I told you I’d never let you near it with a Sharpie and  _ ohmygod TONY!!! _ ”

“Hi, Pep.”  He grinned. “How are you?”

“How am I?  You’re supposed to be dead!  I identified your body and everything!  There was a funeral, Tony. The  _ President _ gave a eulogy.”  She was crying. “How could you fake this?  Why?”

“I’m so sorry, Pep.  I wasn’t faking it. I’m actually dead.  Sort of. I got brought back. With magic.”

“Magic.”  Oh, there was his wonderful skeptical friend, even if he could hear the tears in her voice.

“I’m in New Asgardia.  They have magic here. It was Thor’s idea.”

“I’m coming to see you.”

“You can’t, not yet.  I’m going to come to New York in a few days, okay?  I’m still recovering from being, uh, reborn. Or whatever you want to call it.”

“Can you at least turn on video?  I need to see you.”  _ See that you’re okay _ , he heard.

“Sure, but I should warn you, I look a lot healthier.”

“Well, thank God for that.”

“Not  _ that _ God, but…” He held the phone away from his face and turned on the video feed.  “What do you think?”

“ _ Tony _ .”  Pepper’s jaw dropped.  “Wow.”

He grinned.  “Yeah.”

She was quiet for a minute.  “I need to hug you.”

“I need to hug you too.  I’ll let you know when I’m headed back.  And maybe talk to Legal? I may be dead, but I kinda want my stock back.  And my tower. Is my tower still there?”

Pep giggled.  “It’s only been nine days.  Of course it’s still there. I’ll get with Legal right away.  Although I’m not sure how we’ll prove it’s you.”

“I’m sure the lawyers will be delighted to set new precedent, then.”  He couldn’t stop smiling at her. He was getting his life back. Somehow.

“You’ll call me again tomorrow.” Her voice brooked no argument.

“I will.  Promise.”

They shared a soft look.  They may not have worked out as partners, but she was still his friend.

“Will that be all, Mr. Stark?”

“That’ll be all, Ms. Potts.”  He hung up, still smiling.

Since he had the phone open, he dialed another memorized number.  “Hey FRIDAY. Authorization code ’two eight wells charlie tango quesadilla nine four Fournier alpha thunderstruck’.”

“Hello, boss.  Welcome back. Aren’t you supposed to be dead?”

“Long story, baby girl.  I’ll tell you about it later.  For now, I’d like the important headlines of the last nine days sent to this phone, as well as any worthwhile public tributes to me and anything related to my death.”

“Got it, boss.  Sending it now.”

“Thanks, baby.  See you in a few days.  I’ll be in touch.” 

Tony spent the next hour reading the news and cackling over his newfound sainthood.  Seriously. Everyone was brushing aside his faults and mistakes and talking about him as if he was some virtuous paragon of heroism.  It was  _ hilarious _ .

He was laughing particularly hard over  _ Vanity Fair _ ’s piece on him when Loki emerged from the bedroom.  The god looked well-rested, and delicious. “What’s so funny?” he asked.

“I’m reading my eulogies,” Tony replied, still giggling as he held out the phone to Loki.

“You stole my phone,” Loki said, frowning as he took it.

“Temporarily borrowed.”

Loki snickered, reading what was on the screen.  “I see what you mean. This  _ is _ amusing.”  He scrolled down a bit, laughed. “Think they’ll take it all back when they find you alive?”

“Oh, undoubtedly.”  Tony eyed Loki hungrily.  “How are you feeling there, Lokes?”

Catching the look in Tony’s eyes, the god smirked.  “Getting peckish, darling?”

Tony stood and swaggered up into Loki’s personal space.  “A little. You wanna do something about that?”

“Perhaps.” He leaned down to reach Tony’s mouth.  The kiss rapidly turned dirty. “I think this time I wish to fuck you.” He grabbed Tony’s ass and pulled him close to illustrate the point.

They hadn’t gone there, so far, and it made Tony nervous.  Loki’s cock was massive, but then Tony hadn’t had trouble deep-throating him earlier -- something he never would have been able to do when he was human. Still, Tony hadn’t ever taken a live cock in his ass.  Toys, yes. The real thing, not so much. He wished now that he’d at least been able to talk Pep into pegging him once or twice…

… and then they were naked in a flash of magic, Loki was stroking his cock, and he lost his train of thought.  He fought for control of his senses. “I’ve, uh, never done that.”

Loki pulled back from mouthing Tony’s neck.  “Never? Oh, how delightful.”

“For you, maybe.”

“Never fear, pet.  I know how to make you feel good.” He slid his hand backward – goddamn long arms – and skimmed Tony’s asshole with a suddenly-slick finger.  It pressed in easily. “Oh. Interesting.”

Tony moaned as he was painlessly invaded.  “Interesting?” he slurred, enjoying the sensation.

“I believe your new mode of existence—” Loki added another finger “—has given your body some rather pleasant abilities, too.”  A third finger. “I don’t need to prepare you at all, it seems.”

Tony writhed on Loki’s hand as a fourth finger slid in alongside the others, and he whined when Loki pulled back.

Loki bent him over the back of the couch and slid into him easily.  Tony gasped. It felt so perfect, so fucking perfect, how had he gone his entire life without this?  Loki pulled almost all the way out, and then slammed home, setting a pace that left Tony unable to do anything but feel.  Loki was fucking him so hard, so perfectly, that Tony couldn’t help but weep from the pleasure of it.

“That’s it, oh, my beautiful pet, yesss…” Loki held Tony’s hips in place as he rutted into him.  “So tight, so gorgeous, that’s it…”

Tony couldn’t last like this, not with the pleasure suffusing his entire being.  He was nothing but ecstasy, nothing but joy and pleasure and  _ rightness _ .  He came so hard it was nearly painful, and he dimly heard Loki cry out as the god’s orgasmic energy filled Tony with heat and lightness and sated the hunger he’d felt in every cell.

There was a blissful nothingness for a long moment, and when Tony came to he found that Loki had moved them to the bed, where they were tucked under the covers.  Loki was wrapped around him, watching him.

“There you are, my pet.”  Loki was practically purring in satisfaction. “Are you well?”

“Fucking hell, Loki.  God _ damn _ .”  

The god laughed, delighted.  “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Yes,” Tony agreed emphatically.  He felt unbearably light and happy. 

“I would keep you, dear boy, if I could.”  Loki nuzzled Tony’s jaw. “Such a treasure.”

“Okay,” Tony breathed out.

“What?”

Tony tried to ground himself a little so he could speak clearly.  It wasn’t easy. “For now it makes sense. My choices are you, or boring one night stands with people I might accidentally kill.  You’re hot and smart and hung like a bull. I’m not stupid, you know.”

Loki gave him the biggest smile Tony’d ever seen on the god’s face.  “No, you are not. I would still remove this bond so you can be free of me, should you wish to be.  But as long as I am your choice, I would gladly have you in my bed.”

“Good.”  Tony closed his eyes and took a deep breath, more out of habit than any need for oxygen.  All he could smell was sex and the god who held him. It was lovely. “Glad we got that sorted out.”

“Indeed.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first completed fanfic in 22 years. Muchas gracias to [MxVampirePunk](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MxVampirePunk/pseuds/MxVampirePunk) for the beta!


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